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Your Streaming Guide to the Thanksgiving Holiday

By Stacy Lambe 9:15 AM PST, November 25, 2015

Netflix

When it comes to Thanksgiving weekend, marathoning TV is
almost as traditional as gathering around the dinner table. Of course, this
year there is no shortage of options on TV -- but if you’re sick of all the
commercials that go with it, then try creating your own, custom marathon with
Amazon, HBO Now, Hulu, and Netflix. Here are just a few ideas below:

James Bond Marathon

Sony

After years of marathons on Spike and more recently on SyFy,
watching James Bond has become a Thanksgiving tradition. But now you can
control just exactly when you watch which 007 flick. If you’re not a fan of the
Timothy Dalton years, then you can skip over them in favor of the Sean Connery
classics. Hulu has most of the films, though, none of the Daniel Craig flicks
are streaming. For a Bond-inspired treat, watch Fleming: The Man Who Would Be
Bond, the BBC mini-series starring Dominic Cooper as the famed author.
All four episodes are on Netflix.

There are plenty of shows to binge-watch or catch up on over
the extended break – and if you still haven’t seen The Wire, then get cozy
with your HBO Now account. Otherwise, try out some new favorites from Amazon,
Hulu, and Netflix. The latter just released its second Marvel adaptation, Jessica
Jones, which is a delicious mix of noir and female heroism and Aziz
Ansari’s new comedy, Master of None, cannot be missed.
Meanwhile, Hulu has stepped up its original content game with Casual,
its first real Emmy contender, and the hilarious fourth season of The
Mindy Project, which will stream its mid-season finale in December. And
if you want to indulge in some nostalgic fun, then Amazon’s Red Oaks will do
the trick. That or you can go for the high-brow thriller, Man in the High Castle,
which recently came under fire for its Nazi-themed ad campaign. And if you didn’t
catch the latest season of Project Greenlight when it aired on
HBO, go back now and watch the entire thing plus The Leisure Class, the
original film it created during the documentary process.

If you can't get enough at the dinner table, then try gorging
on a few standout food programs -- everything from documentaries and reality
competitions can be found online. Go inside the world of top chefs with the Netflix
original docu-series, Chef’s Table, or three seasons of The Mind of a Chef, also streaming
on Netflix. On Hulu, you can watch the first 12 seasons of Top Chef in preparation
for the new season returning to Bravo on Dec. 3. If you want to learn how to
cook, then try Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics on Netflix or From
Martha’s Kitchen -- a real throwback -- on Hulu. And while Iron
Chef has yet to make it online – which is a true tragedy -- you can
watch the first season of the American version on Netflix.

Remember that one with Monica’s head in a turkey, or when
Brad Pitt stopped by to ruin Rachel’s day, or when Chandler was confined to a
box? Well, thanks to Netflix, every season of Friends can be streamed
online -- and you can relive every Turkey Day moment in true marathon fashion.
If the Friends Thanksgiving-themed episodes don’t do anything for you, then
check out Bob’s Burgers on Hulu. The show has turned out some wonderfully
kooky holiday-inspired episodes the past few seasons.

If Friends put you
in the mood for more '90s nostalgia, then try mixing it up with these other
classics. Hulu hasA Different World, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, and Seinfeld.Buffy
the Vampire Slayer and The X-Files can be streamed on both
Hulu and Netflix. You can watch Twin Peaks on Netflix before it
returns to Showtime. The streaming service also has Frasier and Saved
by the Bell.

And it wouldn’t be any weekend or holiday break without constant
repeats of Law & Order on TV. But why bother with commercials when
Hulu (and commercial-free) subscribers can bypass most of that. Every
season up until the most recent episode of SVU is streaming. Fans of the
original (or the other spin-offs) can watch on TNT this Saturday and Sunday.